Outcomes from Walk the Talk: a nursing intervention for Black women

OBJECTIVE: Explore changes in walking behavior, blood pressure, and weight over the course of a pilot intervention designed to increase physical activity. DESIGN: A pre/post single group design was used to examine outcomes of a 12-month group intervention with 6-month follow-up. SAMPLE: Twenty-one sedentary hypertensive African American women residing in Mid-Missouri with a mean age of 50.3 years. INTERVENTION: A 3-hour monthly meeting was paired with an at-home walking component. RESULTS: Mean steps per day taken by participants were 3857 at baseline, 4060 at the end of the group intervention, and 5282 at the end of the follow-up period. Mean systolic blood pressure was 142 mmHg at baseline, 123 mmHg at intervention end, and 130 mmHg at 18 months. Mean diastolic blood pressure at baseline was 87 mmHg, 80 mmHg at 12 months, and 78 mmHg at the end of the follow-up period. Mean weight decreased from 206 lbs at baseline to 188 lbs at the end of the intervention. However, mean weight had increased to 213 lbs by the end of the 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Outcomes from this pilot study are encouraging with respect to the potential of group level interventions as a strategy for promoting cardiovascular health among hypertensive African American women. It is particularly noteworthy that women maintained decreases in systolic blood pressure and further decreased diastolic blood pressure despite regaining weight during the follow-up period. Replication of this study with a larger sample size and control group will significantly enhance our ability to evaluate whether the unusual pattern of change in walking behavior noted in this pilot was a fluke or indicative of a slower pattern of change in this population.     

Walk Me to the Water

NEUROPATHICPAIN: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND TREATMENT. Edited by Per T. Hansson, Howard L. Fields, Raymond Hill and Paolo Marchettini. IASP Press, Seattle, WA, 2001. x + 277 pages, hardbound, ISBN: 0-931092-38-8, U.S. $79.00 ($55.00 for IASP members) Reviewed by Melvin C. Gitlin.

HTTP://WWW.PALLIATIVEDRUGS.COM, A New and Emerging Palliative Care Dot Com. Reviewed by Kenneth C. Jackson, II.

HTTP://WWW.PAINEDU.COM, A New Pain Assessment and Management Site on the World Wide Web. Reviewed by Jonathan Gavrin.

AUTOGENIC TRAINING: A MIND-BODY APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF FIBROMYALGIA AND CHRONIC PAIN SYNDROME. Micah R. Sadigh, PhD. The Haworth Press, Inc., Binghamton, NY, 2001. 220 pages with index, List price: hardbound, ISBN: 0-7890-1255-3, US $49.95, softbound, ISBN: 0-7890-1256-1, US $24.95 Reviewed by Denise Thornhill.     

Come to BVNA Congress

Once again the BVNA's annual Congress will be held amid the beautiful countryside in the heart of England, at the National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, from October 13 to 15. A superb Congress has been organised for you and offers something for everyone. Whether you are a student, qualified nurse, doing the diploma, a practice manager or interested in the equine side of veterinary practice there will be something to interest you. There are three full days, each with lectures galore, practical workshops and an extensive trade exhibition. Not only that, but prices have remained the same as last year and a discount is given to those who register before August 25. Registratipn forms were enclosed with the May issue of Veterinary Nursing. If you would like another copy please contact the BVNA Office.     

Cell-surface Accumulation of Flock House Virus-derived Peptide Leads to Efficient Internalization via Macropinocytosis

Arginine-rich cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Tat (48–60) and oligoarginines, have been applied as carriers for delivery of cargo molecules, because of their capacity to internalize into cells and penetrate biological membranes. Despite the fact that they have been extensively studied, the factors required for the efficient internalization of CPPs are still unclear. In this report, we evaluated the internalization efficiencies of seven CPPs derived from DNA/RNA-binding peptides, and discovered that a peptide derived from the flock house virus (FHV) coat protein was internalized most efficiently into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1), HeLa, and Jurkat cells. Comparison of the factors facilitating the internalization with those of the Tat peptide revealed that the FHV peptide induces macropinocytosis much more efficiently than the Tat peptide, which leads to its high cellular uptake efficiency. Additionally, the strong adsorption of the FHV peptide on cell membranes via glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) was shown to be a key factor for induction of macropinocytosis, and these steps were successfully monitored by live imaging of the peptide internalization into cells in relation to the actin organization. The remarkable methods of FHV peptide internalization thus highlighted the critical factors for internalizations of the arginine-rich CPPs.     

Introduction to the Biophotonics Congress 2020 feature issue

The guest editors introduce a feature issue containing papers based on research presented at the OSA Biophotonics Congress (the former BIOMED) 20-23 April 2020, in the first all virtual, web conference format undertaken by OSA.